In welcome news for Israel's sports and tennis fans, the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) announced its new tournament in the ATP 250 category: The Tel Aviv Watergen Open 2022 will take place in Israel this fall, more than 26 years after the country last hosted a major tennis competition.
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The top-tier tour for men is organized by ATP; its 250 tournaments consist of 28 or 32 players, with 20 (or 24) spots accepting ranked players.
The event will feature the world's top-20 ranked players, who will compete in the daily tournament at the Expo Tel Aviv Complex starting on Sept. 25. Games will take a break for the holiday of Rosh Hashanah. Both singles and doubles finals will be held on Oct. 2, with players vying for nearly $1,200,000 in prize money.
The tournament is coming to Israel thanks to a joint effort by the Israel Tennis Association and Watergen, the competition's official sponsor.
"We are very excited that a tournament of this magnitude is coming to Israel," read a statement by the Israel Tennis Association. "This is a perfect opportunity for all tennis lovers in Israel to watch top-class players up close while enjoying a tremendous tennis experience."
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Watergen President Michael Mirilashvili expressed his excitement for the tournament.
"We have been working on this for a long time and are thrilled that our efforts to host a tennis tournament of this magnitude have paid off," he said. "I'm sure that sports and tennis enthusiasts in Israel will enjoy an extraordinary experience."
JNS.org contributed to this report.
